Bitcoin is facing renewed pressure, dropping below $70,000 today amid rising oil prices due to the U.S. Iran conflict. The Bitcoin crash comes as analysts warn that oil prices could still hit $200 per barrel, a development likely to push inflation higher and weigh on BTC and the broader crypto market.
Another Bitcoin Crash Below $70,000 as Oil Prices Rise
TradingView data shows that the Bitcoin price has fallen below the psychological $70,000 level, down over 4% today. The leading crypto is down over 4% today from an intraday high above $71,000, currently trading at around $69,200.
The Bitcoin crash comes amid rising oil prices due to the U.S.-Iran war. Brent crude oil futures rose to as high as $119 today following escalations yesterday with Iran and Israel attacking energy facilities. Analysts are now warning that oil could still rise to $200 per barrel if the war persists and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights, noted that Benchmark Middle Eastern crudes such as Oman and Dubai are already trading above the $150 threshold. As such, he said that a $200 price tag is already within sight, even if Brent crude oil and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) are still behind.
“How much further crude climbs from here almost entirely hinges on how much longer the Strait of Hormuz remains closed,” Hari added. Adi Imsirovic, an energy expert at the University of Oxford, told Al Jazeera that oil reaching $200 was “perfectly possible.” He noted that such an occurrence “would be a major handbrake to the world economy.”
Commenting on today’s Bitcoin crash, market commentator The Kobeissi Letter noted that the drop comes amid a broad sell-off driven by surging energy prices. “The world is quite literally facing what appears to be the largest energy crisis in history,” they said in an X post.
U.S. Has No Plans For Financial Intervention In The Oil Market
During an interview on Fox Business today, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said they will not intervene in financial markets to curb volatile oil prices. However, he indicated that they are considering other options to stabilize oil prices.
Bessent said that the U.S. may do a unilateral release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The Treasury Secretary also revealed that they may un-sanction Iranian oil that is on water. The U.S. is also allowing the free passage of Iranian oil out of the Gulf.
During his FOMC press conference yesterday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that the rising oil prices could drive inflation higher in the near term. He also signaled that they won’t cut rates until they see progress on inflation, which led to a Bitcoin crash below $71,000 yesterday.
Notably, the PPI inflation data, which dropped yesterday, showed that inflation rose to 3.4% last month, even before the Iran war began. With the Iran war likely to drive inflation higher, crypto traders are lowering their expectations for how many cuts the Fed could make this year.